Mama Regina & Bapak*: "We chose to be Indonesian

Staying with Mama Regina and her family was certainly a very great and unforgettable experience that I got through this year’s #IDWomen4Energy volunteering program. Mama Regina treated me like her son, sometimes she even said, "He is my first son," to her neighbor. It's because Mama has three children, her first son, Ardi, who is younger than me - he is still in the 3rd year of high school - so naturally I became her first children. Mama also has a daughter and she is in the 2nd grade of junior high school right now, her name is Arni, and the last one is Andre, he is in the 3rd grade of elementary school.

Say hai to Ardi

Say hai to Arni

Say hai to Andre

Mama is a science teacher in one of junior high school in Atambua, and her husband is a civil servant in Dinas Pekerjaan Umum as a Cleaning Coordinator in several areas like main streets and a few markets in Atambua.

When I stayed in Mama Regina's home, there were also other relatives who stayed with us. They were Bang Paul and Kak Erni, who are Mama Regina's nephew and niece, and also 4 students from vocational schools in Malaka (other regency in Timor) who had to do an internship in Atambua and stayed at her house. What a big, happy family.

Say hai to Bang Paul

Say hai to Kak Erni

Say hai to The Boys

They chose to be Indonesian but it was hard to leave Timor

Around September 1999, Mama Regina and Bapak moved to Indonesia when Timor Leste decided to be an independent country. Due to the chaos and conflict at that time, they abruptly needed to move and escaped from the area, leaving all of their possessions behind - including their house - so when they arrived in Indonesia, they had to live with nothing.

Mama told me that when she moved from Timor Leste, she joined with the others who also chose to be Indonesian, despite the bad situation. Indonesian government sent hundreds of Damri busses to evacuate people who chose to leave Timor Leste and remained to be Indonesian. They had to leave their home, their family, their friends. It was a very sad scene.

"We left Dili, the capital of Timor Leste, along with thousands of Indonesian citizen, led by the head of Regional Chief of Police. Everyone cried at that time, including the Chief. I felt like flying, because it was so surreal, I did not feel anything but sadness, when I had to leave Timor,” said Mama.

Mama left Timor and arrived in Atambua earlier than Bapak, after they got together, they decided to live in Kupang for a year and moved to Kefamenanu. They lived in Kefa for quite a few years - until September 2016 - before moving to Atambua, until now.

During the conflict, a lot of people were separated with their families because they were in different groups when they were evacuated from Timor. And at that time, people who came from Timor has a routine gathering once every week just to find their family members.

The conflict was traumatizing for a lot of people, as well as Mama and Bapak. And apparently, it was tough on Bapak, who still has that big trauma until today. I did not know it until one night, when we were just finishing dinner together, suddenly Bapak changed. He threw a tantrum and scolded Mama for no reason. It was my first time seeing Bapak like that, usually he is a very cheerful person, but then Mama told me all about it. Sometimes Bapak got angry very quickly and became very sensitive, it’s because of the trauma. I felt so sorry to Mama that night.

With Bapak Dominggus Da Silva

Mama told me too about the past, when Bapak condition was much worse that it is now. One time, Mama even had to lie just to get Bapak treated. She asked Bapak to accompany her to the hospital and showed him a paper that she was sick and had to go to the hospital, but actually they came to the hospital to treat Bapak. Mama did it because if she asked bapak to check his condition, Bapak will reject it, because he felt healthy.

So, Mama had to make a deal with a doctor before they come to the hospital in Kupang, the doctor had to pretend that Mama who will check up for her health. When they came to the hospital and met the doctor, as per Mama's scenario, the doctor said that Mama had to stay for several days to get an intensive treatement

And finally, the doctor could say, "You look so tired, do you want to check up too, Sir?" the doctor said to Bapak.

"Yeah, sometimes I feel pain in my back," Mama told me what Bapak said to the doctor at that time.

"Oh I see, let me see (the doctor did the same check up) you also have to get special treatment from us, so you have to stay for several days like your wife. But you will stay in the men's room, and your wife will stay in women's room. Is it okay for you?" The doctor said. And finally the scenario work so well and they can get treatment for Bapak.

Mama is patiently taking care of Bapak until now, even when many people said just to leave Bapak alone and abandon him.

"I love him," said Mama to me.

For now, Bapak is very healthy, but sometimes he still throws tantrum so suddenly :( They have to buy some medicine in Kefamenanu for Bapak, when this happens.

Maybe, if you are a doctor in this field and in the future you want to come to Atambua, will you visit Mama Regina and Bapak for me?

If someday I have the chance again, I want come and meet them again, just like I want to meet with my real parents at home.

With Mama Regina's Family. I bought fried chicken for farewell dinner before I went back to Bandung.

I wrote this story with her permission to write about Bapak. It's just one of the stories that we share during my stay in the #IDWomen4Energy volunteering program in Atambua.

I will write again and tell you more stories about my experience about the #IDWomen4Energy program after this. Thank you for reading my story, don't forget to give your respond or comment below. You can also follow my blog by click the blue button "Ikuti" on the right side in this blog.

A VISIT TO RAAKFAU: AWAKING MEMORIES OF MY OWN HOMETOWN

"Bang Epul, tomorrow we will go to Raakfau and stay there for a night. But there is no light or electricity, is it okay for you?" asked Mama Regina

"I'm completely okay Ma, it's like going back to my home." I said.

Sunday, 10th of July 2017, we got ready to go to Raakfau village. This village was located in Babulu, Kobalima, Malaka Regency, 2-hour drive away from the center of Atambua. Mama Regina's parents and families lived in this village, so we could stay there for one night. A priceless story was created and became one of my unforgettable experience. I was so excited when Mama first asked me to visit Raakfau couple days ago. She explained to me that there was no access to electricity in Rakfau up to now. Moreover, the mainstreet to Rakfau was not covered by asphalt yet, and the condition was so poor. It was a rocky road path.

I told Mama about my village’s condition in Pelabuhanratu, Sukabumi Regency, West Java that it was pretty much the same. My hometown was located in the middle of rubber plantation and the street was made of rocks. Previously, the local government had attempted to asphalt the street but the quality was not good enough so it did not last long.

During my childhood, my parents and I also lived without electricity. We used kerosene lamp to light our house and a car battery to electrify our black and white TV whenever we wanted to watch something. I remember vividly how happy I was when the electricity first came to my village, especially to my home.

Okay, back to Mama Regina's story, hehehe.

This visit to Raakfau was so special, not only because I would be able to meet Mama Regina's parents, but also because we had a ‘Tech Fair’ agenda to introduce some simple and clean energy technologies that Mama and I brought from Atambua, for instance the solar lamp and water filter.

As you might already know, Mama Regina is one of Wonder Women or Ibu Inspirasi in the Wonder Women program, a women’s economic empowerment program by Kopernik. This program aims to reduce poverty as well as provide energy access in remote areas of Indonesia.

Female micro-social entrepreneurs, "Wonder Women", make clean energy technologies available by promoting and selling products in areas where access to electricity and fuel are limited or expensive. At the same time, the program empowers women to both build skills in business ownership and operations, and increase their income through technology sales.

Welcome to Raakfau Village

During the trip from Atambua to Raakfau, we could enjoy the beautiful scenery. Even though it was kind of cloudy, but I could still see the hills with green trees and the sky. We went to Raakfau in a big group since there were not only Mama Regina and I who went there, but also Ardi with his friends Ridho, Arni, and Andre. Kak Ina and Bang Teo from Kopernik team and Kak Nyimas, a photographer, joined us as well. It was a big group, wasn’t it? hehehe.

Always sit on the rear chair with all stuffs

When we arrived in Raakfau, Mama Regina's family welcomed us in person. I fell in love with the architecture of the house, hehehe. It was a kind of traditional house of that area. Almost everything was made out of woods and bamboo. In front of the house, we could see a window, a door in the middle, as well as a simple terrace furnished with some chairs.

I am The first person who opened that window in the next morning. Feels like in my own home

After having a cup of coffee, we asked Pak RT (village leader) to start our special agenda, Tech Fair. We also asked his help to gather the villagers. His way to gather people was also unique yet interesting. He walked around the village, screaming and calling the villagers loudly, a scene that I rarely saw. Somehow, it was so funny for us.

But yes, here the reality was shocking. No electricity, no phone reception (so, no mobile phone), everything was done manually and in typical of villagers way. It was so ironic to live in such a big country but this kind of place was actually still exist.

Can you see the man over there in this photo? yap he is the man, PAK RT! When he screamed loudly to call villagers to come

Anyway, what did we do during ‘Tech Fair’?

Usually, Mama Regina had three different products. But in Raakfau, Mama demonstrated, introduced, and sold two products only -- solar lamp and water filter. Why shoud be solar lamp? It was clear because this village had no electricity and why should be water filter? For your information guys, in Atambua, especially in Raakfau, there was no clean water for drinking and it took a long time to prepare the water.

Solar Lamp-D'light S20

There are two kinds of solar lamp technology that #IbuInspirasi sell to the people. The first one is solar lamp S20. The S20 d.light lamp utilizes LEDs with high efficiency levels that can provide illumination for 8 hours in fully charged battery condition. The light d.light S20 is flexible and easy to use. The solar panel on the head of the lamp is removable, making it easy to charge.

Preparing before the Tech Fair

Another technology is water filter. This water filter has two water containers (both 13.5 litres) and one ceramic water filter candle in the middle. The Water Filter Candle used by Nazava consists of ceramic that is impregnated with silver and with a core of activated carbon. Gravity pushes the water through the filter. The containers are made of food grade plastic that does not leave taste or odour to the water. The filter comes with a tap and a manual in the language of choice.

Sold Out

We also did the Tech Fair in the Village Head office. We demonstrated the technologies well and made it sold out yeay!!!

After the Tech Fair, we went back home and prepared our dinner. Grandpa (Mama Regina's Father) gave us two chickens for dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast. They were wild chickens, hence we should shoot them with the wind gun. Anyway, I managed to slaughter the chickens by myself and provide dinner for the family, yeay hehehe.

Selfie with Grandpa in the darknes

In Raakfau, we cooked outside of the house. People still use the open-fire stove from rocks and wood to make fire. Cooking was one of my favorite parts during this program, both in Mama Regina's house or in Raakfau. While cooking, I could talk with Mama or the others about anything. Kitchen was indeed one of best spots for sharing hehehe.

We are Thankful for Our Dinner

Guys! I really learn a lot during my stay with Mama Regina's family. One of the important things that I get is being grateful for everything we have. Before having the meal, we usually pray together and say "have a nice meal" to the others. No matter what food they eat, they are always be thankful to the God. Thank you for teaching me this priceless lesson Ma :)

I think that's all I can share to you about Raakfau, hope you enjoy it and always be thankful for what you have right now, for your family, friends, life, and every second of your breath in this world.